Mon Ennami
by Entr0py
Summary: Cross-posted to AO3. In which Asriel and Chara are best friends, and then they make new ones. A fic of Asriel and Chara's, Asriel and Frisk's, and Frisk and Chara's relationships. (Mon Ennami My Frenemy)
1. Chara & Asriel

_In this world, it was kill or be killed._

They had learned this from a very young age, when their father came home at night and he was too gone to breathe, let alone take care of a child. They learned this at a very young age when they'd take a single step outside of the house and hear whispers from every direction, hissing in their ears and scorning them, their short height, their practically unheard of bright red eyes, their unnaturally pale skin and unhealthy demeanor. Their father would never deny this and their mother went along with him, because she had to. Their father reminded them of these insults each day, a shaping formation that stuck into their heart and clawed at their throat and their skin and their blood.

In this world, it was kill or be killed -

\- unless, then, you killed AND were killed. But that was impossible, they noted in scrutiny. That went against everything, didn't it?

They did not want to go outside. Those who were Of The Village (they never really knew any of them personally) were harsh and cruel, and they had a hard time thinking that those people could've once been anyone else.

Practically everyone was like this, catching their luminous red eyes and hissing _demon spawn_ , giving them dirty looks in the street and all they were was a child who'd never done anything in their life. You'd think that by 201X - a decade where people practically shouted that change was imminent and everyone should be treated equally - this would have stopped. But humans were especially good at making promises and never following through with them. In 201X, they also would have thought that urban legends like the one about how _people who travel to that mountain nearby vanish and never return_ would have stopped, but they hadn't.

It peaked their curiosity, in a sick, demented sense.

Their dad had went out extra early today, their mom left to remain sat in the kitchen with knitting needles. She did not pay attention to them often, and while she was their mother, they craved no attention from her. They craved no attention from any human, for all humans could do was hurt them with the attention given. The steps creaked under their touch, but their mother kept knitting, did not bother. The steps creaked often, and so the cause could be many things other than them. It was easy for them to sneak to the door, easy for them to push open the creaking door, easy for them to peek out and make sure that nobody was waiting to spit _demon child, disgusting spawn_. When they weren't, they ran, fast, too fast. Through the fields, heavy breathing, up the steep mountain and running and running and running and -

They tripped over a vine.

They tumbled and they fell, the skylight vanishing above them.

* * *

Their bones ached and their arms were wet with blood. Scrapes scattered their legs and when they put their hands on the ground to lift themself up -

Pain snapped through their bones, seared and burned. A gasp yanked itself from their lips and they fell, hitting the ground and aching. A cry wrapped itself in their throat, pushed at their mouth. They breathed heavily, clasped their arms, squirming on the ground.

Rustling.

"It sounds like it came from over here..."

Footsteps. They tensed, preparing themselves for sudden pain and suddenly it just being a dream and suddenly -

"Oh! You've fallen down, haven't you..."

They licked their lips, tasting blood, and looked up. Their stomach dropped. What in - what was that?

It was... a strange thing. They were a furry goat-human hybrid thing, covered in soft white fur with long ears. The...monster? Was wearing a green and yellow sweater, like theirs. The monster focused on them and frowned to its...them...himself. "Are you okay?" he - it was a guy, they were pretty sure - asked, which was a very stupid question in their opinion, for they were bleeding. They nodded mutely anyway, and he extended a hand which they clasped. He pulled them to their feet, and almost immediately their legs gave out under them. He put his other arm around their shoulders for support. They slung their arm around his waist, and with much of the pressure lifted off of them, struggled to stand.

"I'm..." The word pulled itself from their mouth before they could think. They were about to tell him their Old Name, but he turned to look at them, and they blurted, "Chara."

It wasn't their Old Name, but it was very nice, so Chara it was.

"Chara, huh?" the goat boy (literally a kid) said, and he smiled. "That's a nice name."

Yes, they agreed silently, it was a very good name. They looked at him, and he continued happily, "My name is Asriel."

They smiled at him; it was strained and pulled at their face muscles uncomfortably, like they hadn't smiled in ages, but it was the best they could've done. Asriel shifted his arm a little, and then said, "I should probably take you back to the house. Mom and Dad could probably help you."

Chara tensed; their mom and dad were not so nice. But then, these people were not humans. Chara had to trust that they'd be nicer.

Chara was sure that they would be. No one was as disgusting as a human.

* * *

Chara did not have a hard time fitting in with the Dreemurrs, though they were much different from what Chara had known before. All of them were overly sweet - not in the fake way, but so kind that it hurt. Chara couldn't help feeling like they didn't deserve such kindness. Asriel's parents were the king and queen of monsters, named Toriel and Asgore, who had scared Chara out of their wits when they first met (all they could remember was tall tales of monster kings snatching up human royalty and running off with them) but quickly proved to be the best parents Chara had ever had.

In truth, Chara was a bit of a mom's kid. Toriel calmed them down very easily, plus she made good pies, plus she had this nice way of speaking that sounded very formal but very kind at the same time. Chara tried to emulate her often. Asriel was a bit closer to Asgore than Chara was, but Chara still loved him. He cared for them deeply, and had high hopes for what they'd become in the future. He often gardened with Chara when they had the time. Plus, if they'd liked anything, it was plants. Especially the pretty golden flowers which Chara twined around their fingers.

But, of course, their closest relationship was to Asriel - he made for everything Chara had needed but hadn't gotten. He was playful and fun, and probably the one who made Chara the most comfortable around the Dreemurrs. Even when they were hesitant to talk, which was the first long stretch of their stay with the Dreemurrs, Asriel had tried his best to make Chara comfortable. He had often brought Chara outside into the muddy flower garden, so excitable and chirpy that Chara had a hard time doing anything but succumbing to being nice to him.

And soon the family was closer than ever - Chara was the happiest they'd ever been.

On the date of Asriel's birthday, all three of the other Dreemurrs surprised Chara by celebrating their birthday on the same date. Chara walked into the living room and doubled back when they saw the banner hanging from the ceiling: _**Happy Birthday, Asriel & Chara!**_

" _My_ birthday, too?" Chara asked, their red eyes going wide.

"That's right!" Asriel giggled, hurrying to Chara's side. " _Haaaappy birthday_!" he sang, in sync with Toriel and Asgore.

Chara blinked, their cheeks going pink. "O-Oh... I'm..." Their hands trembled on the box in their hands.

Toriel frowned, moving and setting one hand on their shoulder. "Are you all right, my child?" she questioned.

"Y-Yeah, I..." Chara laughed softly, swallowing down the ball of emotion in their throat. "I'm sorry, that's really silly, isn't it... I'm just not used to being..."

They didn't really want to say it, and they were very thankful when Asriel seemed to catch on to this and instead threw his arms around them. "Well, too bad! Come celebrate with us, Mom made your favorite pie!" Chara immediately brightened at the mention of pie, and Asgore and Toriel chuckled as the two children hurried over to the table.

"Careful, children," Asgore warned, but he laughed deep in his throat and ruined it. "You wouldn't want to drop your gifts."

"Of course not," agreed Chara. "But presents are opened _after_ the pie." Asriel giggled next to them, and Chara smiled and sat their gift down onto the table. Asgore made a noise of agreement. Toriel sighed, shaking her head at their antics, but she, too, was smiling.

By the time the pie was eaten and the kids were full, Asgore pulled himself another piece of pie and Chara and Asriel swapped their gifts. They wanted to open theirs together first, and then they'd open the ones their Mom and Dad had given them.

Asriel opened the box and almost immediately grinned, hands snatching the heart-shaped locket placed inside and bringing it closer to his face to examine. He turned it over, and smiled crookedly at the BFFs engraving on the back. Next to him, Chara made a noise of approval as they looked at the shiny dagger. "Thanks," they said, smiling widely and setting the dagger neatly in front of them.

"I love it!" Asriel said, excited, as he unlatched the locket and struggled to put it on. Chara snickered and Asriel pouted at them as Toriel crossed to his side and fixed the locket on his neck, finishing with a quiet "there".

The goat boy turned to face his sibling. "You should've gotten one for you, too, so we'd match!" Asriel exclaimed.

"Who said I didn't?" they said mischievously, and sure enough, there was another locket inside the box when Asriel looked inside. "Besides. We're best friends anyway, aren't we?" Chara put in, smiling. "Together forever." Asriel echoed these words, and agreed.

* * *

Sometimes Chara cried.

This was when Asriel and Chara bonded most, strangely. It happened a lot when they were alone; sometimes at night, sometimes during the day when they were alone. Either way, there were a lot of times when Asriel opened the door to his room and found Chara crying.

At first, they'd been very defensive. Even after they'd let their walls down, they were very defensive about it. "Crying is stupid," they spat, "crying is for _babies_. I'm not a baby! I should be acting like an adult."

"It's okay to cry, sometimes," Asriel had tried to reason.

"No, it's not," insisted Chara. "It's never okay."

Asriel, for that reason, tried not to cry around Chara. They seemed to have very thin patience for anyone who did it, _especially_ themself. Asriel wondered if it had anything to do with their past, but never brought it up, because their past was one of the few things Chara never told him about, ever.

Chara did, however, tell him about a little about life on the surface.

"It's disgusting," Chara said thickly one day, tears rolling down their face. "Everyone's so mean and so nasty and no one would want to live up there, no matter how much they think that they do."

That was his first clue. _No one would want to **live** up there._

Chara's words about the surface were not kind. They described terrible humans, disgusting things that found dead roadkill on the side of the street and spat on it; the kind of things that would kick a Temmie or be very good friends with a Jerry. They told horrible tales of humans who stabbed and murdered each other just to take what the other owned; creatures of no MERCY and all LOVE. Asriel almost wanted to not believe it, but there was something in the pitiful notes of Chara's crying, broken voice that convinced him otherwise.

Chara's hatred was obvious. They wanted all humans gone.

Asriel disagreed. "There are more people that are kind like you, aren't there?" But Chara never responded. ( _There are a lot of Floweys out there_ , he later confided in a friend.)

Other times Chara dissolved into things Asriel didn't know how to classify; thrashing, wailing, too out of control to contain. "It'll be okay," he told them, "you've got nothing to worry about. Take a deep breath." They always ended up calming down, and for a while they would just stay together and Asriel would reassure them.

"I didn't like the surface," Chara told him another time. "It's so much nicer down here... especially having a best friend like you. I couldn't bear living up there."

Asriel averted his eyes.

"I don't -"

"You had an idea, didn't you?" Chara said. "I think you know." Their voice trembled, just a little bit.

"You really wanted to k - to -"

"Yes," Chara said, without hesitation, and Asriel had a sickening feeling they might do it again.

* * *

 _Seems as if everyone is perfectly happy._

 _Peace and prosperity will rule across the land._

 _Take a deep breath._

 _ **There's nothing left to worry about.**_

 _..._

 _See you later... Chara._


	2. Asriel & Frisk

When Chara had died, his love went with them.

Absorbing a human soul, especially one belonging to your dead sibling, was certainly not an experience Asriel would recommend. Hearing someone else's thoughts and feelings, having someone else listen to your own. It was especially strange and off-putting with Chara. Though they'd planned for it, a wave of strange emotions had hit him on the surface: wonder, regret, pain, loss, awe. He wasn't sure whose emotions were whose.

Stronger than anything was what he felt right before their death. Chara's horror at his slowing, his regret, their anger. More than anything, the one thing he remembered vividly was _betrayal_ : coursing hot in their shared veins, and the horrible feeling of splitting down the middle. Chara's yelling wavered in his ears and then died, as the both of them did, simultaneous.

Being soulless was the opposite. It was him and him alone. It was better that way.

A life without love - he soon came to realize, after plunging vines through Papyrus's chest for the third time - was probably the best off. Chara's death, though not as prominent in his memories now that he was a flower, had stung him like no other, as had their screams of betrayal as the two of them fell in unison. But without love, without the desire that only brought him pain? Excellence. He could befriend everyone. He could murder anyone. He could befriend some and kill the others, watching those who remained scramble in their grief. With the power to RESET and the power to not feel love, why, he was in wonderful shape.

So, of course, he was very, _very very_ mad when someone swooped (or more literally, fell) in and snatched that power from him.

He had received a shock when seeing them. They looked like Chara. Their hairstyle, their striped sweater, their shoes, their SOUL. But Chara had started to instead of slumping hold themself up tall, head high, their bangs falling back so their wide red eyes and pale skin were hard to miss. His fears dissolved because then, they were clearly not Chara - they slumped over like Chara first had when they'd met, eyes small and narrow, skin a fair shade darker than the sibling (Asriel) Flowey had once known. It wasn't really relief, because he didn't _love_ Chara anymore, he couldn't. It was literally impossible.

Do the cheery thing. Take their soul. Get out of there.

(His mom) Toriel stopped him, though. Hip, hip, hooray! That hurt a lot, thinking back on it. Fire and plants do not mix well. Though he'd already known that from countless RESETS of working in Alphys's true lab.

Still - looking at that human, he couldn't help but sometimes see Chara in them. The way they spoke quietly to monsters, the way they quivered at threats when Chara used to when they cried; the way they stopped slumping and straightened up, head held high and chin held up. Sometimes the two stripes seemed to blend into one like he and Chara used to wear. Every time he taunted them and held himself back from moving to kill them, letting them pass and swearing to stop for a moment, they'd pass him and glance at him and something in his head would scream, _Chara, Chara._

Flowey would move to follow them, and tell himself, _I'm doing this to take their SOUL_. It's one step closer to godhood. Follow them, find out their weaknesses. Then he'd corner them, kill them somehow (friendliness pellets, vines, other plant-like methods of murder) and snatch up their SOUL for his own. But that wasn't true, was it, said the voice in his head, the one that sounded like Asriel.

He'd follow them anywhere.

He would never doubt them.

* * *

The underground was very strange.

How were they supposed to feel? A voice muttering in their head, going from scolding to reassuring them, sharp to soft. Monsters all over, ranging from impaling them on spears to casually watching over them on their journey. A seemingly friendly flower turning evil and attempting to murder them. Though everything was new and off putting, Frisk was determined to be a pacifist...

for now, at least.

Speaking of that flower, it was not too sneaky. Sometimes the voice would hiss in their head, _Look behind you. It's that... thing again_. Frisk would spin and catch sight of the golden flower before it popped into the ground, hiding from them. It's a flower, they tried to tell the voice the first few times, but eventually even they started sharing the voice's dislike for the flower. Especially after Sans's mention of the talking flower, which, even though he said it was an echo flower, they knew was certainly Flowey. And no one should mess with Papyrus like that, especially not some little flower. The voice had not commented on that as they usually did, but Frisk was feeling very sure that in that moment, they had been in agreement.

 _Keep going_ , said the voice in disdain, _there's no use wasting time over that flower until it comes_.

Frisk agreed, and put the flower off their mind for a long while. It wasn't until they'd backtracked from Asgore's castle into Alphys's true lab that they really started thinking about him again.

There were more flowers like him, like the ones they'd landed on, not alive - but there.

The voice in their head was silent. Confused. Frisk agreed. They'd listened to some tapes in the Lab, which had seemed to drive the voice away from talking for a very long while, but by the time they'd came upon the entries to the flower, the voice had picked up its talking again.

 _The flower's gone_ , the voice narrated, their voice trembling.

Nearly by the exit elevator, Frisk's phone rang. Before they'd even started to open it, a shaky, scared breath came. Frisk lifted their phone to their ear.

The voice spoke again. If their voice had been trembling before, it was shaking like crazy now, slow and stuttery and confused. _It's a voice you have... never heard... before..._

"Chara? Are you there?"

A faint whimper in Frisk's ear. Someone seemed to shiver next to them.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it...?"

The voice pricked something familiar in Frisk, like they'd heard it before...

"But you've done well. Thanks to you, everything has fallen into place. Chara..."

Two cold spots gripped their shoulders... like someone's hands.

"See you soon."

And the elevator doors slammed shut.

* * *

With his locket and the worn dagger, they looked even more like Chara. But Chara had never worn such an expression of fear on their face, hadn't they...? Nevermind that. There was a first time for everything, he was sure. As the monsters crowded around him, their expression melded into something more confident. _You are the hope of humans and monsters_ rang in his head.

"I can't believe you're all so _stupid_."

Chara - was it Chara, was it them, though? It had to be - recoiled, shock plastered on their features.

" _ **ALL OF YOUR SOULS ARE MINE!**_ "

Suddenly he was himself again. He flexed his small hands into fists, let his arms tremble, shifted on his legs which he hadn't felt in ages. He took a deep breath, shifting back on his feet, turning around, and facing the only other being there with him. The only one he'd keep there.

"Chara, are you there?" he asked to the small human. In the dark of the Void, they looked even more like Chara than they already had, only their silhouette with the glint of the locket and the knife visible. And while he had a sudden, sinking feeling that they were not Chara, he simultaneously could almost feel his sibling's presence, for it whispered in the wind and in the nonexistent sky.

"It's me, your best friend."

 _Asriel Dreemurr,_ the voice in Frisk's head said, but Asriel didn't seem to hear it. _It's the end._

Frisk didn't know what to do besides hope and dream.

The world around them changed again, to a mess of color - flashing rainbow and bright lights, filling through the void around them like water through a riverbed. A strange surge of excitement hit through them, which made no sense, because they were still so confused on how to stop this; how to stop a being of such incredible power. The voice in their head spoke again, now less of a strangled cry but more of an enthusiastic shout (had the excitement come from them?)

 _ **ASRIEL DREEMURR ∞ATK ∞DEF**_

 _ **The Absolute GOD of Hyperdeath!**_

* * *

The narrator was right.

They could feel their friends, but..

Someone else still needed saving.

They spread their arms wide, as if for a hug.

"Asriel!"

"Huh?" he cried, expression shocked. "What are you doing...!?"

* * *

"I'm so sorry."

Nothing made sense. He remembered meeting Chara - for some reason, then - he'd tried to kill them but it hadn't worked, and - they'd tried to save him, arms spread out for a hug like Chara used to give, pristine, empathetic smile like Chara had once worn on their face, their posture held high like they were ready to carry the weight of the world on their small, small shoulders. He was so used to hardly feeling but then he felt too much, too much; sadness, pain, loss, regret... _and care, and love,_ and he hadn't felt those two emotions in a longer time than he could count.

The human said nothing. They'd stuck the knife in their back pocket, away from him. He sniffled, and wiped the tears out of his eyes, and smiled.

They focused on him, confused. "I always was a crybaby, wasn't I, Chara?" The human bit their lip, fingers twitching at their sides like they wanted to move, but couldn't. He didn't have a hold over them anymore, but somehow, they knew to give him a moment.

"... I know. You're not _actually_ Chara, are you?"

The human shook their head. Not Chara. A pang of disappointment hit Asriel in the chest. But still, "Chara's been gone for a long time." He hesitated, and then, meeting their eyes, asked, "What... What is your name?"

"I'm Frisk," they said quietly, and he made a note to remember that.

" _Frisk_?" he asked. "That's a nice name."

Frisk smiled knowingly but sadly, as if they knew what he was subconsciously making a callback to. But they couldn't know that, he scolded himself, because they were not Chara.

"Frisk," he said, "I haven't felt like this for a long time."

As he spoke, they watched him. Not in scrutiny, not in impatience, but silent and sympathetic. Chara was always empathetic, but they weren't all that sympathetic sometimes. He could vent to them, and Chara to him, but it would've been nice to have someone so blatantly understanding, while Chara was more of a confusing character, in whatever situation.

"I...I understand if you can't forgive me. I understand if you hate me. I acted so strange and horrible. I hurt you. I hurt so many people. Friends, family, bystanders..." He went silent for a moment. Frisk only frowned. "There's no excuse for what I've done."

They didn't hesitate in answering, "It's okay." He stared at them, and softly, they said, "I forgive you."

* * *

"So, Frisk, it's best if you just forgot about me, OK?"

He felt almost sad. He would have liked to stay. He would have liked to have a friend like Frisk. He didn't know it, but they would have liked to have a friend like him, too.

"Just go be with the people who love you."

 _Comfort him, or do not,_ suggested the voice in their head. It seemed uncertain, confused, like Asriel was.

Frisk did not need to be told twice. They crossed over and hugged him without a second thought. There was silence, and then, finally, Asriel wrapped his arms around them, too.

"Ha... ha... I don't want to let go."

They felt a teardrop hit their shoulder, but said nothing about it.

It felt like someone else was hugging them, too, like there were three people instead of just the two of them.

 _Frisk really is a nice name._


	3. Frisk & Chara

_**No! No! What are you doing? Stop! Stop! You're** **killing** **us!**_

 _I can't do it, Chara! I can't kill anyone._ Asriel's - Chara's - their shared hands trembled. _Not like this. Not when they don't deserve it._

 _ **Asriel, I swear to - you CAN do this! Please! Let me do it if you can't. Let me FREE EVERYONE!**_

 _What would Mom think? Or Dad?_

 _ **Don't bring this up now, you - you idiot! In this world, it's kill or -**_

"AGH!"

The arrow embedded itself in their stomach. Chara squawked with their shared mouth, their hands tightening on their own dead body. _I'm going home_ , Asriel said quietly, giving a humans a comforting smile that Chara was certain they did not deserve, and he struggled to his feet and marched down the way to the barrier. Dust ate at their wounds, only Chara's DETERMINATION holding them together. And even they had stopped caring. All Asriel could feel was their anger, their hate; triggered by seeing the humans once again.

 ** _Hate?_ ** His sibling sneered. _ **You know who I hate?**_

Their stomach twisted and lurched at the same time. He fell onto the flowers.

 _ **I -**_

Toriel and Asgore existed the house. Chara and Asriel's shared SOUL was ripping already.

 _ **hate -**_

His feelings were jumping back and forth. Was it sadness at their words hitting so hard, or anger pulsing through him through the betrayal he -they'd? - just experienced.

 _ **you.**_

Toriel dropped to her knees besides them, her hand grasping Asriel's. Asgore was seeming to choke. "My child, no!" she wailed, throwing her arms around him. Asgore fell to his knees next to them, one hand reaching out to stroke Asriel's forehead. _**You betrayed me! You betrayed me! You - you - I swear to - ASRIEL!**_

"M-Mom... Dad... Chara and... I'd... I... can't feel..." _**HATE YOU HATE YOU HATE YOU LET ME GO**_ "...can't feel any..thing..."

Their shared SOULs snapped, and for Chara, everything went dark.

* * *

They woke on a bed of golden flowers, the light from the surface that they had seemed to have seen only moments ago. They reached for their chest. Weren't they supposed to be dead? They remembered Asriel's and their plan, and its inevitable, painful failure. They remembered their screams, their pain, their _death_ , an arrow embedded in Asriel's stomach that rocked and cracked their shared SOUL. And yet...

 _Here we are_.

They scrambled to their feet. Their hands found their legs and then their stomach, both of which seemed to sting sharply. Their gaze flitted across the cavern. Besides the golden flowers newly planted, which weren't there when they'd first fallen and hurt themself badly, and some moss scattering the walls, the cavern seemed just about the same as Chara remembered it. Their eyes flitted down and caught... blue and pinkish-purple? They blinked, and then narrowed their light red eyes, scowling deeply at what they had just found.

A human. It was a _human_. Good lord; they thought they'd never see one of those again.

The human pushed themself up, phasing right through Chara's body as if they were never there. They yelped, stumbling back, and the human looked around, bleary. Chara didn't know how they knew this, but they were sure - this human was confused and sad. They didn't really want to be here, though they knew how they got here. They were frightened. They wanted to go home but at the same time they _didn't_ ; they just didn't want to be _here_. The human staggered to their feet and started walking. Chara, almost unconsciously, started walking after them, following. Everything in the Ruins seemed dizzying, confusing. Not new. Things that they remembered. But it seemed too strange, so surreal.

A flower popped up at the human's feet. Chara felt their confusion as it said something like, "Howdy! I'm Flowey!". They closed their eyes and took a deep breath. They rested their hands on their face.

How did they get here? At least they were sure that... _something_ had changed. This was not the underground that they remembered, nor the underground they had left with Asriel when their SOUL broke. The golden flowers they woke up on were not there when they'd fallen. They'd only been planted in New Home, where they and Asriel had played and laughed together right before their plan had occurred... but now they were here, which was strange.

A jolt of pain interrupted their thoughts. They jerked forwards, their eyes flickering to focus on the human, their eyes widening - the human was stuck on the ground, deep bleeding gashes in both of their shoulders. They squirmed and struggled. Chara stepped back, their mouth trembling.

"You idiot," the flower hissed, grinning widely. "In this world, it's _kill_ or be _killed_." Chara licked their lips. The words sounded too familiar, and yet too strange. It didn't hurt or hit hard, but it was... peculiar. "Why would ANYONE pass up an opportunity like this!?"

Before Chara could move, a ring of bullets shot out, circling the human's SOUL. They spun closer as the flower cackled. They squirmed, squeaking as they realized they were trapped: stuck with pain and very nearly no HP, trapped between bullets. Chara narrowed their eyes, concentrating. Thank god, it still worked - the human's HP healed. They squeaked again, this time with relief, as the bullets disappeared and the flower's expression shifted to anger. A ball of fire slammed into the flower, throwing him away from them with a yell. Another creature started walking towards the human and Chara, and Chara glanced to them first. Their nonexistent heart stopped.

She was the same as ever. Tall and elegant and intimidating, but with a soft expression and a wide, open posture as if waiting for a hug. Her fur was a soft white, her eyes sharp red like Chara's own as she eyed the flower that had attacked the living human. She was even wearing the same robes that Chara had often seen her in: a long, draping purple robe with the white Delta Rune emblazoned on the chest area. A choke-like sound escaped Chara's throat, their hands dropping to their sides.

"Mom," they whispered, taking a step towards her. Toriel did not seem to notice.

"What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth..." Their mother turned her attention from Flowey (was that it?) to the human, who had stepped back. Their fear flooded Chara, mixing with their own shock and confusion. Chara could understand why; they themself had been scared of Toriel when they met, much more taller and intimidating than the soft, quiet Asriel who had approached them first. But Toriel had ended up being sweet and kind, a perfect mother, someone who Chara needed. "Ah, do not be afraid, my child," she said softly, taking a step back as well, to let the human know she was not there to hurt them. Confirming Chara's thoughts, she continued, "I am TORIEL, caretaker of the RUINS."

 _Ruins_? What Ruins? But this place... the familiar cavern with the shining light of the surface, the pillars and winding dark hallways; so far, this seemed just like Home... where Asriel had kept them for a few months before they finally moved to New Home up by the Barrier.

This _had_ to be Home. A pang of horror hit Chara straight in the stomach. How long had it been? _What happened to Home?_

"I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down."

Every day? Did she _live_ here? But what about Asgore?

"You are the first human to come here in a long time."

How many had there been, since they fell? Was this the second? Or the fifth, or the seventh, or the eighth?

"Come!" Toriel said pleasantly. "I will guide you through the catacombs."

* * *

Over time, Chara began to speak. They blurted it out on accident at first - " _The shadow of the Ruins looms above you, filling you with DETERMINATION_." - but the human seemed to hear them, twisting their head back in confusion, frowning, and then continuing to move on. Decidedly taking this as a reason to keep talking, they talked to them whenever they felt bored.

They met many people they knew and many people they did not. They met Snowy, the teenage comedian, remembered from their own time; they met Papyrus, the over-confident skeleton, who had clearly been born some time after Chara's death. That flower from the Ruins stalked them throughout every area; watching with strangely keen eyes, popping back into the ground every time the human either saw him on their own or Chara pointed him out to them, sneaking through the ground and following from a distance. After a while, Chara stopped pointing him out, instead relegating themself to talking.

They could not feel love. They knew this. Even when thinking of those dear to them - Toriel, Asgore, Asriel - they felt the memory of loving and caring, and overwhelming feelings of sadness and regret. But the love and the care - just that; memories. Nothing they could consistently feel now that they were a... ghost.

Was that it? Yes, most likely. Ghost it was.

But they knew they _did_ feel something towards the human. It wasn't love, romantic or familial, but it was a tiny, small amount of caring. Chara kind of liked them. They behaved, to Chara, like Asriel used to. Though Chara had learned very quickly that they could not interact with the human - sometimes they could touch them for a second or two, but mostly their hands and extremities phased right through - they could talk, and that was all they'd needed.

Through talking, Chara could express themself. Their wit, their sarcasm; their sass and their anger and their joy. They could not express their pain, but they didn't want to and they didn't need to. They did kind of trust the human, a little, because slowly, they _had_ started to - they were too kind, too sweet, too _easily_ trusted. Besides, Chara had no choice but to let them take the wheel most of the time, anyway. They couldn't keep up the energy to keep control of a body not their own so constantly, so they'd kind of ended up _having_ to trust them. They were piloting the body (that, admittedly, they probably didn't know they were sharing). Either way - despite their trust of the human, they did not want to expose anything about their past or their pain.

The human liked knowing how people felt, which Chara had learned from feeling the human's feelings. They were uncertain and confused, though Chara seemed to somehow reassure them when they talked, but they liked to know. They liked to know whatever they could. Except - thank goodness - for the name of the voice in their head, because Chara really never wanted to tell the human that they were, in fact, Chara.

Then again, Chara did not know that human's name either... which was strange, considering how much Chara trusted them.

* * *

 _ **A cotton heart and a button eye,**_

 _ **you are the apple of my eye.**_

* * *

Frisk would consider themself crazy, but they weren't; not really.

After all, hearing voices would be a sure sign of insanity. And it wouldn't really be too out of place in a land filled to the brim with... monsters. That was a big shock, too; _monsters_. Everything was too strange and out of place, even for them, what with their chaotic home and their broken life. Essentially all of the monsters unsettled them to a point with their prominent flaws and problems that Frisk couldn't help but notice: Toriel, cowardly and clingy; Sans, lazy, nihilistic and useless; Undyne, ruthless and furious; Alphys, lying and anxious; Asgore, murderous and he, too, cowardly. Papyrus himself was too sweet for Frisk to dig into even if he'd hurt them, but considering all of the others had killed them too, accidentally, indirectly or otherwise, it was hard not to dig into them, as Frisk so often did.

The voice was one with very few flaws. Frisk had essentially become dependent on them, because they were the only one Frisk could really trust in a land of _new_ and _crazy_. They gave welcome commentary, a voice of normalcy and a sign that everything was all right. Which was strange, because it was a _voice in Frisk's head_. If the voice was not there, they could safely assume something was wrong.

The voice was snide and sarcastic, but surprisingly, they were one of the most comforting presences in the Underground, rivaling Toriel. Simply their existence was kind enough, but through every trial and tribulation, the voice was there. Commentating when Frisk was alone and afraid (adding cheerily during the True Lab when Frisk felt horrible eyes watching them, making references during battles that Frisk didn't understand but nearly laughed at anyway; scoffing rather playfully at Frisk's friend's opinions) and making jokes and easy speech, that voice was always there.

When they felt like something had gone wrong they trembled. They felt like they had seen too much - a skeleton who wouldn't hesitate to kill them if he could, melting monsters filled with too much DETERMINATION, a mother so desperate to keep her children close she'd do anything. They set their hands on the table and stared into New Home's mirror, feeling like they were looking at a completely different person. They were not someone who'd gone through so much.

 _Despite everything, it's still you._

Frisk blinked at the voice speaking again, but then their face relaxed into the smallest of smiles.

It was weird to develop an attachment to a voice in your head, but Frisk felt like that they liked whoever the voice was, and that whoever the voice was liked them, too.

 _TEMMIE 7 ATK -20 DEF_

 _Loves to pet cute humans. But you're allergic!_

Frisk snickered under their breath, moving to dodge Temmie's attack as she cried, "hOI! im tEMMIE!" _Does that mean you think I'm cute?_ they thought.

They felt a slight twinge of embarrassment that certainly wasn't theirs. _Temmie forgot her other attack,_ continued the voice, as if Frisk had never asked, though they'd clearly heard.

Other times, the voice would get... weird. It was mostly, they discovered, during the True Lab. The melting monsters, fused and scrambled together like, well, _lab experiments_ (as they were) did put Frisk off a large amount, with their slurred speech and strange attacks. They were once normal monsters, dis-formed and strangled by DETERMINATION. But the voice themself seemed even worse, going from a carefully cheerful if sarcastic figure to a trembling, strange-speaking one. Their words went from light things like _Lesser dog has gone where no dog has gone before_ to _Screaming is against the rules_ and one time during the fight with Snowdrake's Mom they even started disassociating, so different from what they usually were -

 _You laugh, and keep laughing._

Frisk couldn't hear laughter but they knew the Narrator sometimes heard things they didn't - but it wasn't them, so why were they saying _you_?

 _It's SO funny, and you can't stop,_ crowed the Narrator as if this was genuinely hilarious, and maybe THEY were laughing but Frisk couldn't hear them.

 _Tears run down your face._

Frisk shifted on their feet and eyed Snowdrake's Mom. _N-No,_ they said, quiet.

The voice was silent for a moment. Then: _...What? You didn't do that?_

Frisk tried to keep them happy since then.

* * *

 _Frisk is a nice name._

 **TRUE RESET.**

* * *

They woke on a bed of golden flowers, the light from the surface that they had seemed to have seen only moments ago. They reached for their chest. Weren't they supposed to be dead? They remembered Asriel's and their plan, and its inevitable, painful failure. They remembered their screams, their pain, their _death_ , an arrow embedded in Asriel's stomach that rocked and cracked their shared SOUL. And yet...

They stood up and glanced down. A human was there, clad in a blue sweater with light purple stripes. Chara felt like they should have been much more surprised, but they... weren't. The human sat up and phased right through their body, sending a strange, cold, tingling feeling through their stomach... but they weren't surprised. They felt like they shouldn't have expected this, and yet they weren't horrified or shocked. They felt - not calm, certainly - but strangely cool. The human started walking off and Chara almost immediately turned and followed them. They felt like they needed to, like they had to, like this human was the only way for their survival and they _needed_ to trust them.

That flower. Strange, kind of surprising... but not really. Mom, who really sent a shock to their system. "Come, I will lead you through the catacombs."

The human had their first monster encounter, with a shy, soft, pathetic, innocent Whimsun. Chara almost expected them to welcome the Whimsun, to encourage and smile at it.

Instead, they stepped forward with their stick and swung. It rammed into the Whimsun with a sickening thunk. Chara yelped, their eyes going wide. The human did not seem to hear.

Anxiety filled their nonexistent body. Something was wrong. This couldn't be right; though they were sure they'd never met this human before, something had encouraged them to trust them, and something told them that somehow, this was wrong.

The sharp-looking stick fell upon the Whimsun, turning the pathetic monster to dust. Their stomach twisted into knots and lifted in elation at the same time with the EXP increase. And yet they did nothing to stop them.

* * *

 _LOVE, too, is an acronym. It stands for "Level of Violence." A way of measuring someone's capacity to hurt. **The more you kill, the easier it becomes to distance yourself. The more you distance yourself, the less you will hurt. The more easily you can bring yourself to hurt others.**_

* * *

The more the human swung their knife, the more excited Chara felt. But they became anxious, antsy, watching their new friend loiter and hang around, eyes skimming where they shouldn't. Why were they halting? Certainly, in a situation like this, a person would wish to keep going, wouldn't they?

 _Keep going._

 _Determination._

 _Forgettable._

 _Wipe that smile off your face._

The human, too, started to see this. They began taking Chara's advice, moving forward and going on without hesitating. The only time Chara hesitated was when they reached their mother, but the human swung their knife and Toriel fell, and Chara, feeling the elation of their shared LOVE increasing, forgot the pain of watching their own mother die a few steps into what they knew was Snowdin. As their footsteps crunched on the snow, the dust on their knife and their sweater like snow in itself, Chara poked at their companion's conscious. _Hey_ , they said, _can I take control_?"Can I" not "let me", in a kinder way. They did not know this human well, but for all the distancing they'd done from monsters, they felt the need to be polite to them.

 _Sure_ , replied the human warmly. _Go ahead, partner_.

 _Partner_. Chara grinned crookedly at the word, then snatched up control of the body. It took them a few moments to get used to it; the moving of the legs, the uncomfortable need to be careful that came with having a body again, but they got used to it, stepping forward and pressing their - the human's? - expression into something bored and flat. When Sans approached? Bored. Lamp? Don't go behind it. Walk through all the puzzles. The human and Chara quite quickly delved into an easy system; Chara walked through puzzles and past the brothers, their expression bored and flat, and the human took control to hack and slash at the monsters in their way. During the Papyrus fight, Chara relinquished control to the human. _Check_ , suggested the human.

Chara gave Papyrus's stats. The urge to mention something about him liking to say Nyeh-Heh-Heh sprung to their lips, but they swallowed it back and simply bit, _Forgettable_.

The human hummed in agreement, and cut down Papyrus, curb-stomping his skull for good measure. _I'll keep going, if you don't mind_ , they said, and Chara enjoyed their polite cooperation. They reminded them of Asriel, his cheerful joy and soft agreement with their plans.

Asriel. The name panged in their chest. Then they shrugged it off, because they had a new best friend, now.

* * *

In New Home, Chara only felt a slight twinge. This was a great improvement.

They listened to Asriel's story and did not care. They cared about nothing and no one - that was, of course, except for their best friend and partner, the human.

 _The Locket. DEF 99. You can feel it beating._

It was for their best friend only. They cared about Asriel no more, they thought as the human equipped the Locket and the Knife, but as Chara glanced back at _My Bed_ and _His Bed_ and the Photo, they felt the smallest twinge of regret.

"Hey," said the human aloud, "we're best friends, aren't we?"

Chara would have smiled, had they a body.

* * *

 _Do Not._

but they'd killed sans

and asgore

 _and ASRIEL, DEAR ASRIEL_

for them. For the human. What was this human doing? After all they'd DONE?

They were just another Asriel but SO MUCH WORSE, they were tired and angry and so SO

"...No?" Chara said with surprising stability. "Hmm. You must have misunderstood."

maybe they were the one who didn't understand.


End file.
